ST. JOHNS — A Clinton County man is facing sexual assault charges after police say he molested four young girls.

Benjamin Hughson, 39, told police he fondled the breasts of four girls and digitally penetrated one, Clinton County Sheriff's Department Detective Lt. Sean Dush testified during a hearing that led to criminal charges.

Frederick Blackmond, Hughson's attorney, did not respond to a message left seeking comment Tuesday.

The investigation began in June after three girls, all of whom were 13 when they were abused,separately reported they had been sexually assaulted by Hughson, Dush said. When Dush spoke to Hughson, he told Dush that he had also touched a fourth girl.

The abuse occurred from 2013 to 2018, Dush said.

One of the girls told police that Hughson said if she ever told anyone about the abuse, he would "rape her, kill her and bury her in the backyard," Dush said.

Hughson, whose last known address was in Elsie, was charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

In a separate case, Hughson drove the fourth girl to an area where he hunted deer, Dush said. They talked, and he reached out with both hands and fondled her breasts, Dush said. She was 14 years old at the time.

He was charged with one additional count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with that incident.

Dush interviewed Hughson in July. Dush testified that Hughson told him if the detective didn't arrest him, he would "have been sucking on the end of a shotgun."

Dush told court officials he thinks Hughson is a "severe danger to society."